The wine-ings of an anglophone francophile in the shade of the city of light.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Sunny days in the country

I can't believe it's been over a month since I wrote anything of even minor interest on here. I've been following the lovely Lola on her footpath to love, working, to-ing and fro-ing to the country and I have been mightily neglecting my cyber-diary.

Perhaps this is because things are happening that I don't want to broadcast just yet, but also that to be honest, there really isn't a great deal to broadcast.

I'm doing the Paris - Chablis forward / back thing every week now, and when I get on the train on a Wednesday evening at Bercy station I'm realising that it's easier and easier as time goes by. Life in the village is so different from life in the city, especially the cultural hub and hotbed of romanticism and activity that is Paris. Still, it's actually starting to be enjoyable to get away from it all for two days a week and ensconce myself in the upstairs office at the domain, hiding away from the hustle and bustle of city living and adding a few more weeks to my life expectancy by avoiding the omnipresent fumes typical of a working day in the city of lights.

And to add a rather juicy cherry to the cake, yesterday evening G and I actually went to someone's house in the village for a drink! I was disproportionately excited by the prospect of going out for the evening in Chablis, as it is such a rare occurence. The lovely man who painted our house here bumped into G in the street yesterday and asked us over for an apéritif.

I had one of the best evenings I've had in a long time, meeting new people and putting the world to rights as the French love to do with their hearty debates. To add another dash of surprise there was an English guy there too! I couldn't have imagined that there would be another English person of about my age in such a small secluded village. Anyway, it also turns out that there's yet another English person here too, a girl of about my age who loves to sing! Not that I necessarily favour English company over French, but it is a comfort to know that there are fellow citizens around who have made a life for themselves here. If they can do it, so can I!

I came back home feeling really optimistic and readier than I have ever felt to abandon my beloved Paris existence and try out life in the countryside. For the moment nothing is changing, but if events shape themselves differently, it wouldn't be as hard as I had thought to leave my monthly métro pass on the shelf and reach for my wax jacket and wellies!